


An Invitation To A Ball

by afteriwake



Series: Stuff Of Improbable Legends [8]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Banter, Best Friends, Bones Has A Crush, Bones Wants More, Costume Parties & Masquerades, F/M, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Living Together, Male-Female Friendship, One-Sided Attraction, Past Relationship(s), Plans, Roleplay Logs, Talking, Trust, molly is oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 21:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7861420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An invitation to a costume ball that Molly receives on behalf of the clinic that she asks McCoy to be her pretend date for leads to an interesting conversation and the familiar thoughts of how much McCoy wishes there was more to their relationship than what they have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Invitation To A Ball

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sideofrawr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sideofrawr/gifts).



> So yeah. This was supposed to be for Molly Appreciation Week but I just reread it and it is totally a McCoy POV thing, because he's been in love with her for, like, forever at that point (according to **sideofrawr** ) and this is totally all about him. ::nods:: But I do adore this fic and will make sure I write more with them from her POV for the week, I promise! This particular fic was inspired by two things: it's a continuation of a segment from the kiss meme fic, and it also starts with one of the [sentence starters](http://penaltywaltz.tumblr.com/post/142534142233/random-sentence-starters) from my favorite list. But anyway, enjoy!

“Just pretend to be my date.”

He raised an eyebrow at her request. “And why would I want to do that?” he asked, knowing he was sounding like a grump but also knowing, in his own way, he was teasing her. He just wasn’t going to show her just yet.

“We’re pillars of the community, Leonard, or at least I am. And as you and I are more or less joined at the hip here, I’m forcing you to come as my date. So there.”

He wasn’t even mad, to be honest, which he knew was obvious by the amused look on his face. He didn’t _really_ want to go to the charity ball that the local business association was showing, but St. Bartholomew’s Clinic was the highest ranked clinic in the city with both patients and fellow business owners, and he knew a lot of that had to do with Molly. Between her time spent at the coroner’s office and the clinic she was choosy with the events she chose to attend to represent the clinic, but the ones she _did_ go to shone a spotlight on them. So if she decided they needed to go to this ball, then, well, they needed to go.

He shook his head and then pushed himself away from the wall and reached for Molly’s hand. He grasped it lightly and then bowed at the waist before brushing his lips across the back of her hand. He kept his gaze up at her face and could see her roll her eyes but there was still a grin on her face. “Well, tell me what the theme is, darling, and I’ll get a suitable outfit.”

“Fairy tales,” she said.

“Is it just a costume ball or masquerade ball?”

“Just costume, thank God,” she said, removing her hand from his.

“Hmm. Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood, maybe?” he suggested. 

She shook her head. “But I was so hopeful you’d be Prince Charming to me being a Princess of some sort.”

He tilted his head, his grin getting wider. “That could have possibilities.”

“You’re incorrigible,” she said, shaking her head and removing her hand from his grip. They had settled into something that was easy and flirty without ever mentioning that night between them, and he was thankful for it in a way, even if part of him wondered if there might ever be a chance of revisiting the conversation they’d had that morning. He still wanted more, but she obviously didn’t. The “pretend to be my date” made that plain enough. Still, it was an excuse to be out with her, to be close, and he’d take it. “Any particular fairy prince you feel like being?”

“Are we talking the Disney versions?” he asked, moving away from her to the kitchen to get some coffee.

“We could,” she said, giving him a critical look. “You’d make a dashing Prince Eric. I could go as Ariel, I suppose.”

“Which one is that?” McCoy asked.

“The Little Mermaid,” she replied. “I used to watch that all the time when I was young. I vaguely remember there being a flouncy princess dress that she wore, though I could always go in her wedding dress if need be.”

McCoy started making his coffee. “How long until the event?” he asked.

“A month. I’m sure that’s plenty of time to get outfits and wigs. Well, I’ll need a wig. Ariel was a ginger, and I don’t feel like doing anything that drastic to my hair.”

“I don’t know. I think you’d look damn good as a redhead,” he said, looking at her.

“Do you?” she said with a smile.

He nodded. “I do. It’d give you a look that matches the spice of your personality.”

“Oh, so you think I have a spicy personality?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’ve been here a year now,” he said, going back to his coffee. “We’ve lived together the entire time. Trust me, I _know_ you have a spicy personality.” He waited for her to reply with a quip or some smartass reply but got silence instead. Frowning, he turned and saw she had sat down at the kitchen table. “Molly?”

“You know, you’re the first person I’ve ever really lived with for that long,” she said. “I had roommates the first year I was in uni, but they basically ignored me. Then I lived in a flat on my own. I never had roommates after that, and I never had a lover who was serious enough to live with me. Not even Tom. He stayed over, but we weren’t _living_ together. And...well, you know who and I never got that serious.” His jaw clenched slightly at the oblique mention of Khan. “So you’re the first person I’ve ever _really_ lived with by choice.”

“I feel honored,” he said. “I mean, when we got this complex, you could have gotten an apartment of your own, but you wanted to stay with me. That’s got to mean something.”

“It does,” she said with a nod, looking up at him. “You’re quite special to me, Leonard. There’s no one I trust here more than you. In any number of universes, I suppose. I think I would trust you more than my friends back home, at this rate.”

He left his coffee alone and then moved over to her, sitting in a chair next to her and reaching over for one of her hands. “Hey. You mean the world to me, too. I mean, Jim is one of my best friends and all, but if I had to pick between him and you? I’d pick you.” She smiled widely at that. “Just don’t tell him that. He’d never let me hear the end of it.”

She leaned closer to him. “It will be our secret,” she said.

He moved his chair closer to hers and put an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him more. It may not be _exactly_ what he wanted from their relationship, but as long as she was a part of his life, he wouldn’t complain. He didn’t know what he would do if Molly wasn’t there, and he didn’t want to find out.


End file.
